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Earl Grey. Hopped.

August 20, 2015 12:05

Summit Brewing Company of St Paul called us to talk about a new beer they wanted to try brewing. Brewer Nick Hempfer, Star Trek nerd, wanted to try brewing an Extra Special Bitter Ale with Earl Grey tea; in honor of Jean Luc Picard (aka Patrick Stewart) always ordering “Earl Grey….. Hot !”from the replicator (ok, we have some Star Trek nerds around here also). It would be #19 in Summit’s Unchained Series and aptly named “Make It So.”

Earl Grey White Tip, used to brew Make It So

We sent them a few options of Earl Grey tea (as you know, we have a few) for their trial brews. In April, we were invited to Summit for a tour of their facilities and to taste the test batch. (Read more about the initial tastes from that hour-long tasting session at Summit’s blog.)

Jess & Timothy tasting the test batch of Make it So with Nick Hempfer and Head Brewer Damian McConn

Live long and prosper

Next came the day for the final brew to be canned. We were there for that too.

Getting a taste of the freshly canned Make It So

Brewers had to balance themselves and the Earl Grey tea over these tanks while adding them to the beer scoop by scoop through a small opening.

Summit sent some Make It So with us as we left their brewery, which we brought back to our offices to taste and celebrate with our co-workers.

And then, we celebrated with everyone! Summit hosted a Release Party for Make It So at their Beer Hall. We handed out samples of Earl Grey tea while Summit poured Make It So and Star Trek fans geeked out over the costume contest and real-sized Star Trek props (some had real lights & sounds!). Eden Prairie manager, Georgia, and TeaSource owner, Bill Waddington, at the Make It So release party at Summit's Beer Hall

Sampling iced Earl Grey White Tip

Star Trek costume contest

TeaSource staff enjoying Make It So and the Star Trek transporter with brewer Nick Hempfer

Now, Summit and TeaSource have teaming up for some samplings this month at area liquor stores. We are playing carnival games and giving away prizes in celebration of Make It So and Canned Beer Month! We hope you join us.

All of this talk about tea and beer inspired former TeaSource manager, Jess, to share her experience with homebrewing beer with tea. Before her move to Portland, Jess wrote a quick explanation about using tea in her brews for Beyond the Leaf. She also sat down with Chip Walton of Chop & Brew to record an episode for his web series on homebrewing.

We had a lot of fun with Summit Brewing Company and Chop and Brew and look forward to future collaborations!

Comments

Great article! We had a wonderful time working with and learning more about tea from TeaSource. Cheers to you all.

Posted by Summit Brewery (@summitbeer) on September 16, 2015 17:46

So glad that everyone is happy with the way the beer turned out. Coworkers at the brewery is excited about it and have been drinking our fair share of the beer and our new-found favorite, Earl Grey… unhopped! Three cheers to TeaSource.